Building strong brands in the key £8 to £10 price sector has become increasingly the key battleground for the truly global wine producers operating in the main markets around the world, according to Thomas Domeyko, Concha y Toro's export director for Europe, USA and Africa.

It was certainly its main focus at this week's ProWein fair in Germany where it was able to put the spotlight firmly on its plans to drive its three super brands, Casillero del Diablo, Cono Sur and Trivento across all its key international markets, he stressed.

"It is our opportunity to really put a strong focus on building our main brand Casilero del Diablo but also Cono Sur and Trivento," he added.

It is a strategy that is clearly working in the UK, according to the latest sales figures from IRI that show for the last 12 months to January 31, 2015 Casillero del Diablo is now the number eight global brand in the UK with sales up 40.7% by value and 38.5% by volume. Its average bottle price of £6.37 is the highest in the top 10.

Trivento Reserve Malbec is the number one Malbec brand in the UK, with value sales in the off-trade, again according to IRI, growing at 520% year-on-year.

"Our ambition is to always have double digit growth for the business every year. We want to have a global presence in all the key markets where we think we can really have an impact," he added.

A key part of that strategy has been its high profile sports sponsorships that give it a true international profile.

Its multi-million pound link up to be the official wine of Manchester United has given it unprecedented coverage across Asia, South America and Africa.

"It has had a massive impact in Asia and in Africa where we have been able to make a big noise about it through point of sale, ticket offers, and merchandise," he said.

Sales in some countries can be up by as much as 100% following a Manchester United linked promotion, he claimed. "It really depends on the market."

The Manchester United partnership has certainly helped it grow and develop new markets and the brand is now in 140 markets around the world.

Cono Sur and Trivento are on a similar global growth strategy with Cono Sur now in just over 100 markets and Trivento slightly less.

They are also following sports link ups with Cono Sur being a wine partner to the Tour de France and Trivento backing Premiership Rugby. It is a strategy Domeyko said it is also following in other major markets with sporting links, for example, with ice hockey in Canada.

"It is important to be at this high level to have proper visibility in these markets," he said.

The next phase of such activity will be to better understand what part of the sports partnership is the most effective, be it merchandising, ticket sales or whatever, added Domeyko.

Benefit from consolidation

He believed companies of the scale of Concha y Toro with such powerful brands were in a good position to benefit from the consolidation taking place in the market, particularly amongst the major grocers. "Consolidation is a natural process. The consumer is faced with an impossible choice of 700 to 1,500 SKUs to choose from so the big retailers cutting back their ranges makes a lot of sense," he said.

"But it is also a good opportunity for brands that have got a strong position."

He said despite Casillero's growth it still has enormous opportunity to grow as it only has 5% to 6% household penetration in the UK. "There is a still a huge potential there for us."

There was equally potential for its more premium wines like Don Melchor and Marques de Cava Concha where it can work closer with independent merchants with wines up to £50 a bottle.

Domeyko said this week had proven once again that ProWein has become the must attend global wine fair. "ProWein is working better than Vinexpo at the moment. We are seeing all our customers here from Asia, North America, Canada, United States and across Europe with the Scandinavian monopolies, the Dutch, the Belgiums and all our main UK customers."